I don't even think he's over 2.5. Last year I had a few bucks I thought were 3.5 but when we shot them and aged them by tooth wear it looked like they were only 2.5. It has a thin neck and the face is still slender. The body hasn't filled out like a 3.5 yet. Unless you have some pictures of it from last year looking almost as big, I would say it's not over 2.5.